Our expat sites

HSBC Bank International today unveils an ambitious project to conduct the largest ever survey of expats.

The project aims to give more than 2000 expats across four continents the opportunity to have their say on what life is really like for people living and working away from home. The survey will look at opportunities that come with starting a new life in a foreign country away from home, and the challenges and difficulties that they may face at home and at work.

The survey will also reveal how new technology helps expats start their new lives and manage their professional and social affairs. It will also find out how expatriate children’s lives differ from the lives of the friends they leave behind.

Paul Say, Head of Marketing and Communications at HSBC Bank International, said: “Living in foreign countries means expats often don't have the normal outlets to express their point of view about their unique lifestyle. This project aims to gather these viewpoints and capture them on an unprecedented scale. As well as giving voice to the expat population, the study will provide new insight on their needs which will help HSBC Bank International to improve its services and products for its customers.”

Europe was founded on principles of tolerance and freedom of
movement for the population and the business. Brussels was lobbying the
European Community to become the host of most of the European
institutions and is now broadly seen as the capital of Europe.
Therefore, it is awkward to see that it is actually in the country
symbol of Europe (one of the sixth founders), and mainly in the
neighbourhood of the main city, that we observe now all the signs of
communitarian and racism. (More)

Last time I was in Dubai, my return plane to UK was cancelled. Bad luck, but the company was not willing to offer any help better than "come back in 2 days" [1]. There are protective rules for passengers who suffer such uncomfortable situation. Unfortunately it depends whether you are flying in Europe, US or the rest of the world.

In Europe, the European Union Air Passenger Rights rules for delayed and cancel flights apply to all passengers with a confirmed reservation for any flight taking off from any EU airport or flying to a European airport on a EU member's plane company.

Passengers who are delayed for more than 5 hours may request a refund of their ticket and free accommodation, but only if they decide not to travel. In case of cancellation, you are entitled to compensation of € 125 for short flights to € 600 for long flights, and have the choice of rerouting or refund, plus meals, refreshments, 2 phone calls. (More)

Amsterdam
is probably as well known for its canals, tulips and bikes, as for its
red light district and coffeeshop (as the name does not explain
clearly, places where you can legally smoke cannabis/marijuana as well
has having a drink).

But now the area known for its sex-shops,
sex-shows and brothels, is slowly changing, with the voews of the city
council which has decided recently to clean up the expanding sleaze,
crime and violence in the historic district (mostly blaming Eastern
European pimps and international organized crime attracted by the
Netherlands' lenient policies). The city bought 5 brothels and let for
free for 1 year the 18 windows (out of 500 according to the IHT) to
young artists, photographers and fashion designers. (More)

Dating from the age of the empire, the non-domicile status was designed during the Napoleonic wars in the hope to get cash from workers in America. The law lets foreigners (and their British born children) claim a non-domiciled status and therefore put aside some of their wealth and income from Britain. Thus, 10% of the population living in Britain (bankers, but also east European workers) are entitled to use it , whereas the rest of the population are liable for tax on their income and gain worldwide. (More)

2006 was definitely a big year for Petite Anglaise: "dumped, dooced and outed, but also snagged a book deal" according to her own words.

Petite
Anglaise was blogging under anonymous coverage about her life in Paris,
that she made home 10 years ago, the familiar expat gripes, and
sometime evolving to talk about her relationship and single motherhood,
writing always with talent that was awarded several times by satin pyjamas.

Catherine Sanderson (the English Bridget Jones as she was described by the Daily Telegraph) became even more famous the day when the stupid-old fashion company where she was working in, the now condemned British accountancy firm Dixon Wilson, decided to fire her for gross misconduct [1] (that is the name they gave for having a blog). (More)

As I was saying on Tuesday the 5th, in the primary held in London by the Democrats Abroad (DA), my personal feeling was well confirmed worldwide: 66% of voters chose Barack Obama against Hillary Clinton in the DA global primary result, representing thousands of ballots submitted by 164 countries and territories between Feb. 5 and Feb. 12. (More)

Biba has been specializing in networking for years. Her company, Biba4Network, helps business owners to connect to who they need and maximize their networking results.
Focus on Career aims to help Francophones to start their own businesses in the US and facilitate their expatriation.

Company:
Biba4Network, LLC / Focus on Career

City - Country :New York/Miami - USA

On which economic sector are you acting and what is its advantage?
Biba4Network international network for proactive entrepreneurs and small business owners, helps people to maximize their networking results, connecting them to who they need to meet & training them to network more effectively so that they can grow their businesses faster. (More)

On which economic sector are you acting and what is its advantage?
My activity is devoted to Financial Coaching (advice) for individuals. The advantage is that my services are tailor-made.

Can you talk about your activity?
I’m sure that Financial Coaching can be useful for expats since French legislation for real estate (de-fiscalisation), and the French "financial" system itself may be complicated for a person who arrives in France to spend only a few years. (More)

Threat of reality? According to the UK Daily Telegraph, Inland Revenue is carrying out a crackdown on people evading UK income tax by using offshore bank accounts, i.e. using their credit card to pay for living expenses in the UK.

The American Internal Revenue Service (IRS) carried out its own review on tax evasion through offshore accounts in 2002. Under the IRS rules, American
taxpayers are liable for US tax wherever their income is generated. The rules is slightly different in the UK where the ordinary resident is only taxable on its income generated or spent in the UK (that is likely to change next April). (More)